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TRAVEL
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May15
priced cruise lines, such as Star,
Royal Caribbean and Costa, don’t. For
example, you can enjoy free canapés
served in the bars before dinner, daily
white-gloved high tea in the dining
room, free movies in a real theatre and
fresh floral arrangements around the
ship. Another rare feature:
Volendam
’s
extensive library has hundreds of
volumes on travel, history and more, as
well as a slew of fiction titles.
Its wraparound outdoor promenade
deck is another reason this ship stands
above its peers, inviting passengers
to stroll and jog while gazing at an
approaching port or the big blue sea.
Standard cabins are larger than those
aboard Royal Caribbean, Star and
Costa, with perks like shower-and-tub
combos, lighted magnifying makeup
mirrors, DVD players and bathrobes.
On the dining side, kudos goes to
Volendam
’s better-than-average fruit
selection, with exotics like rambutan,
jackfruit and papaya part of the buffet
spread. My sons especially enjoyed
the free hot-out-of-the-oven pizza, plus
the French fries and nachos served
poolside. They were also drawn, no
surprise, to the freshly made chocolate
chip cookies and free ice cream in the
Lido buffet restaurant. Eating became
an activity for them as much as the video
games and activities in the supervised
playroom, which sees the most business
during holiday cruises. One of the ship’s
four restaurants, Canaletto’s serves
tasty (but heavy) Italian pastas, plus
an antipasto course and homemade
breads (for $10 extra per person); a
nice alternative to the main dining room.
14-night
Volendam
cruises
between Singapore and Hong
Kong start at US$1,599 per
person, including meals,
enter tainment and most
activities.
hollandamerica.com